Manufacture of semiconductor devices requires application and subsequent removal of a photoresist chemical from a surface of a semiconductor wafer. The removal of the photoresist chemical, commonly known as stripping, may be immediately preceded by a plasma ashing, etching, or other semiconductor manufacturing step. These steps can degrade or carbonize the photoresist chemical and leave a photoresist residue that is difficult to remove by current stripping methods. The current stripping methods require that the wafers be dipped into baths of commercially available chemical mixtures known as strippers. The baths may employ heat or ultrasonic augmentation. Typically, the baths employ immersion times of twenty to thirty minutes to achieve complete removal of photoresist or photoresist residue from the wafer surface.
What is needed is a more effective method of removing photoresist.
What is needed is a more effective method of removing photoresist residue.
What is needed is a more efficient method of removing photoresist.
What is needed is a more efficient method of removing photoresist residue.